PREVIEW: ROTHERHAM UNITED (A)

15 March 2024

An in-depth look at Huddersfield Town’s next Sky Bet Championship opponents.

- Rotherham United vs Huddersfield Town
- Saturday 16 March 2024; 3pm kick-off
- What to expect from our game against the Millers

André Breitenreiter’s Huddersfield Town side make the short trip south to take on Rotherham United in the latest Sky Bet Championship game of the season on Saturday.

Backed by a sold-out away end, the side will aim to record a second win under the German Head Coach to try and propel themselves up the league table against an opponent that is also in great need of wins in the final nine games of the campaign.

THE OPPOSITION

Rotherham United come into Saturday’s game in 24th place in the Sky Bet Championship ladder, 20 points from safety.

They’ve suffered nine straight defeats, most recently falling to successive 5-0 losses at the hands of promotion-chasing Coventry City and Norwich City.

It’s been an incredibly tough calendar year for the Millers so far. Their last win came at home to Middlesbrough on Boxing Day, and they’ve taken two points from a possible 36 in 2024.

A ray of light for Rotherham is that their home form has been better than their record on the road this season. All three of their Championship wins this season have come at their AESSEAL New York Stadium,

They’ve also suffered badly with injuries, particularly in defence. Former Town man Lee Peltier, now 37, is the latest casualty in that department, adding to absent key figures like Tyler Blackett and Grant Hall.

THEIR MANAGER

44-year-old Leam Richardson was appointed the new Rotherham United manager on 11 December 2023.

As a player, Leeds-born Richardson played as a full back, with most of his career games coming for Accrington Stanley and Blackpool.

It was at Accrington where he started his coaching career, having two spells as Caretaker Manager before getting the gig on a permanent basis in November 2012.

He departed the club in mid-2013 to rejoin former manager Paul Cook as his assistant at Chesterfield, and the pair moved to Portsmouth two years later. There they had real success, winning promotion to League One in 2017.

That earned Cook and Richardson a move to Wigan Athletic, and they immediately steered the Latics back to the Championship at the first time of asking.

Wigan then endured some tough times, and Richardson was asked to step in as caretaker on two occasions before getting the manager’s job permanently in April 2021. He kept them out of League Two and earned the League One Manager of the Season accolade for leading the team to the League One title in 2021/22.

Richardson was let go by Wigan when they were in the relegation zone the following season.

LAST TIME OUT

Rotherham had a bad afternoon in Norfolk last weekend, losing 5-0 to David Wagner’s Norwich City.

“We're in the habit of losing, of giving performances that aren't up to the level,” Richardson said after the game. “It's not one major thing, it's a lot of major things that we need to address.

“We're anything but competitive right now, aren't we? Tactics and formations are overrated sometimes. You need the fundamental habits: you need to run, you need to work, you need to cover distance.

“You need your high speed, your sprint distance, the competitive edge. You need that in abundance and you need a quality of player.”

Previous Starting XI (3-1-4-2):
Viktor Johansson; Hakeem Odoffin, Sean Morrison (c), Cameron Humphreys; Christ Tiéhi; Peter Kioso, Sam Clucas, Oliver Rathbone, Sebastian Revan; Charlie Wyke, Tom Eaves

FORMATION

Richardson has consistently deployed his side in a 3-1-4-2 shape over recent matches, with a fairly regular defensive unit of goalkeeper, three central defenders and holding midfielder Christ Tiéhi.

Ahead of them, Richardson has given many players a chance to show what they can do, partially through selection decisions and partly through injury issues. He has options for his front two, with the likes of Tom Eaves, Jordan Hugill, Charlie Wyke and Sam Nombe all getting minutes.

WHO TO WATCH

Viktor Johansson

Although Rotherham have conceded the most goals in the Championship so far this season, their 25-year-old goalkeeper is well thought of.

A full Sweden international, Johansson came to these shores to start his professional career with Aston Villa. He spent two years with Premier League Leicester City, but then joined Rotherham in September 2020 and has not looked back.

A virtual ever present for the Millers, he is their reigning Player of the Year.

Christ Tiéhi

Christ Tiehi 16_9.jpg

25-year-old Tiéhi was born in France but has previously represented Côte d’Ivoire up to Under-20 level.

A defensive midfielder, he started his career at Le Havre but moved to England to play for Woking and Tonbridge Angels. He then moved to the Czech Republic to play club football in 2021, playing for Opava, Slovan Liberec and Sparta Prague before joining Wigan Athletic on loan in 2023.

That preceded a permanent move to Rotherham in August for a club record fee, around the same time that Ben Wiles joined Town from the Millers.

Hakeem Odoffin

Odoffin was a Tottenham Hotspur Academy player in his youth but turned pro with Barnet before moving to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2016. A spell at Northampton Town preceded a move to Scotland to play for Livingston and Hamilton Academical, which earned him a move to Rotherham in 2021.

He can play as a holding midfielder but has most recently been deployed as part of Rotherham’s back three and leads the Millers’ scoring charts with four Sky Bet Championship goals this campaign.

TOWN TEAM NEWS

Huddersfield Town Head Coach André Breitenreiter will update the press on team news from 1.30pm on Thursday.

You will be able to watch this live via HTTV on YouTube.

KIT

The Terriers will be in their black away kit this weekend! There’s currently 30% off that replica kit in store and online - CLICK HERE to get yours today!

iFOLLOW HTAFC

Audio Match Passes for this fixture are available at £2.50 each, giving supporters who are unable to join us on the day full live coverage of the game.

CLICK HERE to find out how to book!

Match Reports

REPORT: ROTHERHAM 0-0 TOWN

16 March 2024

Goalless draw as Town play 30+ minutes with 10 men.

- Rotherham United 0-0 Huddersfield Town
- Sorba Thomas shown a red card just before the hour
- Town control game but cannot break the deadlock

Town came away from Rotherham United with a point in the latest Sky Bet Championship game of the campaign, having played for over half an hour with 10 men.

The Terriers made the running across the entire 90 minutes without finding the one big moment to break the deadlock.

That effort was not aided by dropping to 10 men when Sorba Thomas received a red card for two yellows just before the hour mark, but Breitenreiter’s men still looked the most likely team after that.

Rotherham’s threat in the first half came from former Town loanee Sean Morrison’s long throws, all of which came from our left flank. That led to their best chance as early as the 10th minute when, after the initial throw was headed clear, Jack Rudoni lost out to Andy Rinomhota on the edge of the box and the former Reading man curled the ball against the far post. Striker Charlie Wyke was first to the rebound, but could only fire the ball over the bar at full stretch.

Other than that, Town made the running without seriously testing goalkeeper Viktor Johansson. We had half chances, but on several occasions shots were placed too close to the Swedish international.

Rudoni hit the goalkeeper with his shot on the turn in the box in the eighth minute; Kasumu had similar luck after Hogg nodded a Thomas corner into his path soon after.

One of the biggest chances fell the way of Jaheim Headley in the 34th minute, who raced to the back post to get on the end of a deep cross from Matty Pearson. Unfortunately, having got to the ball, he could only divert his header wide of target.

There was another talking point two minutes later when David Kasumu went down in the penalty area, and was booked by referee Josh Smith for simulation. Even if it wasn’t deemed a penalty, the replays had some viewers believing that decision could have gone differently.

Burgzorg had another shot that was too close to Johannson before the opening 45 came to a close, after some neat combination play between him and Brodie Spencer.

Town came out fairly brightly for the second half, with Burgzorg’s half volley soon arrowing just over the crossbar, but then the complexion of the game changed before the hour mark when Thomas earned two quick yellow cards. The first came after he was deemed to have felled Morrison chasing him down, with Sorba’s frustration evident, and the second came after he had sprinted 60 yards into his own half to stop a counter-attack. Sorba was adamant he had played the ball, but the referee showed him a second yellow and Town were down to 10.

Despite going down to 10 men, it was Town who continued to make the running. Rudoni fires straight at Johansson and then shot over from range, and Burgzorg soon slammed a shot at the goalkeeper after showing good feet to make space for the shot.

In the end, the one big moment didn’t come, despite the Terriers forcing several set pieces in and around the Rotherham penalty area.

Town’s team (3-5-2)
Lee Nicholls; Matty Pearson, Michał Helik, Radinio Balker; Brodie Spencer (Tom Edwards, 90+1’), David Kasumu (Ben Wiles, 46’), Jonathan Hogg (c), Jack Rudoni, Jaheim Headley; Sorba Thomas, Delano Burgzorg

Unused substitutes
Chris Maxwell; Josh Koroma, Brahima Diarra, Alex Matos, Danny Ward, Pat Jones, Ben Jackson

Town bookings
Brodie Spencer (26’), David Kasumu (36’), Sorba Thomas (54’)

Town red card after second booking
Sorba Thomas (59’)

Gate
11,033

Town fans
2,419